Holiday Week in Review

My sister Shelly packed her stuff and her son this morning and headed back to Springfield, Tennessee. We sure enjoyed their visit.

We had a fun Christmas gathering on the Saturday after Christmas so that she and Bo could be included.

We three sisters enjoyed being together and had some fun aggravating our mom and going through old pictures and reminiscing. From left to right - Robbin, Me and Shelly.

Before Bo went home he wanted to ride, so he and JT both rode on New Years Day. Bo chose Stylin and JT chose Maybe. Dixie got to have a break from the kids. I was very impressed with Bo's skills - I don't think he's ridden since he was here over a year ago.

JT continues to be a great little rider and it's time for me to take him on a trail ride. We did have a little mishap yesterday, though. Between me not retightening his girth on the pony saddle and him not letting me know that his saddle had gotten off center, the little saddle slid off to the side while he was cantering. He told Maybe to whoa, grabbed the fence and stepped off of her. She's such a great little horse, she just stood there while we got her resettled and JT climbed back on.

Even our pups got in the spirit..... here's Jesse and Sarah.

For family and friends who want to see WAY too many photos - click here.

Toffee Time

My free box of English Toffee Anytime came in and I shared it with my in-laws. Needless to say - it was a big hit ! If you've got a craving for some good stuff....this is it!

Daughter & Mother Times Two

My daughter, Jenny, and I went for a nice ride today. She rides Maybe who is the daughter of my horse Stylin. We rode at Black Creek Ravines and almost had the place all to ourselves. We talked to a man walking his dog and then a nice guy who had been kayaking down the creek took this picture of us when he and his sons stopped for lunch. We don't get a chance to ride together very often so this was a real treat. We topped the ride off by sharing a sub sandwich and a cold beer. Plus.....she bought me a new camera for Christmas !!

Tis the Season!

I must be getting old......... I put up a table top Christmas tree this year. It probably wasn't 3 years ago that I was making fun of my Mom for having such a little tree. But you know what?....it's a lot easier to set up and I've enjoyed the cute little pre-lit tree just as much.

Bobby and I went to my company party Friday a week ago and had such a fun time! It was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Jacksonville. From the valet parking, to the delicious food and drink, it was a first class affair. We had private tours of the museum and got to dance the evening away with a DJ. You can see more pics of the party and museum here.

Bobby's daughter Carolle got to come visit us from California. She's gone through a few changes since she's been out in there in LaLa Land. The first obvious one is that she's gone from a natural blonde to a saucy red head. The second is that she is living an alternate lifestyle from the way she was raised. She is a beautiful girl , full of life and fun and she relishes being the center of attention. We thoroughly enjoyed having her around for a week, but she probably found life on our little "farm" pretty dull. She's in Gainesville now visiting with the rest of the family before flying back to California.

I got to ride in a new State Forest with my friends on Saturday. (the forest isn't new - just new to me) It was an hour drive from my house and the trails were disappointing. Way too much rock on the trails and they were too short. We had fun anyway going off the beaten path and blazing through vines and bushes to explore the area. There's another trailhead with more trails, but it's too tight to manuever my 3 horse trailer. We'll have to go back another time with a smaller trailer.

I'm looking forward to Christmas, but it's gonna be a little weird this year. My sister Shelly won't be bringing all of her kids down with her because they are grown and have their own things to do... so Robbin's son JT is our only youngster enjoying Santa Clause this year. We're going to wait till Saturday to have our Christmas dinner so that Shelly can enjoy it with us. I hope everyone enjoys their Christmas and has an opportunity to stop and count their blessings.

Try some Yummy English Toffee for Christmas !

This site was suggested to me by my friend Aundrea at Swamp Surburbia - click on the link for some yummy english toffee...... ENGLISH TOFFEE ANYTIME - and enter their contest.

Lazy Vacation Days

My vacation started last weekend as my husband and I met our friends to camp and ride along the Suwannee River. We camped at 7BarL Ranch in Live Oak, Florida which is only an hour and 20 minutes away from our house. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend and I got a lot of riding in. Bobby likes to hang out at the camp, keeping the fire going and maybe getting in a little nap. You can read about the camping weekend and riding at my other blog First Coast Trail Blazers.

I had to go in to work on Monday for 5 hours to finish up some audit work....boy, I was not a happy camper, but it felt good when I left. I have enjoyed my days off so far; I've been sleeping in till at least 7 each morning. Mom's doing great and I took her out on Tuesday to do a little shopping. I can't even remember what I did Wednesday except clean the stalls and drag the horse pen, then visit with my sister. Today I took little Sammy my cat to the vet to have his hoo-haws removed. I sure miss him tonight but I'll get to pick him up in the morning. After dropping Sammy off, I stopped by Panera Bread and had a cup of tea and a bagel while I waited for Steinmart to open. I'm not much of a shopper, but I had to get a pair of pants and a shell to wear under a borrowed jacket for the work "Holiday" Party Friday night. After a quick purchase, I swung by my favorite book store and then went to the post office on my way home. I cleaned out our room size closet (otherwise known as the family junk repository) today while it was raining and then when the rain quit, I went to a feed store to pick up 5 bags of Seminole feed that I won last month. I blended a bag with my current feed and will be happy to use it this month. I matched it up with what I currently feeding and it sure comes in handy since Jenny's horse Maybe is back home with us. Then I updated my APHA Ride American log on line, updated the horses' medical records and did my Christmas cards and here I am. What a productive day and I enjoyed it by myself!

MOM

JT and Mom

Boy....what a long day ! My sister and I took Mom to the hospital today to have a pacemaker put in. She was asked to come in at 6:30am........long story short..........she didn't go back to get the actual procedure done until 4:15 in the afternoon! She was really a trooper and kept her cool during the whole day despite being in a hospital gown with her butt hanging out, no food or water and no real reason why it was taking so long. (She normally would have been VERY vocal about her displeasure, but she didn't want to make waves until after the doctor finished the procedure.) Once they took her back, the procedure went well and we had a nice talk with the doctor who semi-explained why he took someone ahead of her even though she was scheduled first. She should feel an immediate difference in her shortness or breath and tiredness since the device will keep her heart rate above 60 bpm.

Robbin & KD (we weren't smiling this big at the hospital today)